Archaeological Research in Sardinia   -   Progetti Archeologici in Sardegna

Terralba Rural Settlement Project  -  Progetto Terralba

The Terralba Rural Settlement Project was established in 2002 as a long-term endeavour to investigate the nature and distribution of rural settlement in the Terralba district of west central Sardinia and to explore its connections with both the indigenous traditions of Sardinia and the wider colonial network of the Punic world. Initiated by Peter van Dommelen as a project at Glasgow University, it is now carried out in close collaboration with Carlos Gómez Bellard of the University of Valencia.

Two general key publications on this topic are

  • van Dommelen, P. and C. Gómez Bellard 2008: Rural Landscapes of the Punic World (Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology 11). London: Equinox.

  • van Dommelen, P. 2006: Punic farms and Carthaginian colonists: surveying Punic rural settlement in the central Mediterranean, Journal of Roman Archaeology 19: 7-28.

Excavations at Pauli Stincus (2010 - ongoing)

At the site of Pauli Stincus (Terralba, Sardinia), a rural settlement of Punic and Roman Republican date (4th - 1st c. BC) has been excavated in 2010. See here for a report from the field.

Excavations at Truncu 'e Molas (2007-2009)

At the site of Truncu 'e Molas (Terralba, Sardinia), a rural settlement of Punic date (5th - 2nd c. BC) was excavated in 2007. Analysis of the faunal and botanical remains and study of the finds have been completed in 2008 and 2009.

Terralba Site Surveys (2003-2005)

Eight rural sites of broadly Punic date (5th - 1st c. BC) were intensively investigated in the Terralba district of west central Sardinia in 2003 and 2004, using systematic surface survey, geophysical prospection, test excavation and ceramic and spatial analysis of the finds. 

Riu Mannu Survey

The nature and developments of rural settlement in west central Sardinia from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages were intensively and systematically investigated between 1992 and 1999.

Alla Ricerca del Mondo Rurale

Questa mostra virtuale presente le vicisitudini e le modalità dei paesaggi umani della Sardegna centro-occidentale dalla preistoria fino all'epoca romana in base ai dati raccolti dal Progetto Riu Mannu.

View across the marshes at Neapolis